


Death's Fixer

by Browncoat_Valentine_335



Category: Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action/Adventure, Canon-Typical Violence, Crossover, Cyberpunk, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Magic, Master of Death Harry Potter, Nomad V (Cyberpunk 2077), Science Fiction & Fantasy, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:15:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28266003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Browncoat_Valentine_335/pseuds/Browncoat_Valentine_335
Summary: With only weeks left to live, V enters the Afterlife for information on the man who built the chip that's killing her. Little did she know, someone else was also looking for Hellman. Harry Potter is as chaotic as they come, with magic and death following in his wake.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Female V
Comments: 33
Kudos: 72





	1. Chapter 1

V stumbled at the entrance to the Afterlife. A coughing fit racked her body, courtesy of the broken piece of tech lodged in her head. Her lungs felt like they were on fire, her head was swimming. The cybernetics in her body glitched, causing her vision to go fuzzy with static. 

No one stopped to help her. Honestly, it would be more surprising if anyone even glanced at her as she coughed her lungs up. That was the unspoken rule in Night City. If it wasn’t happening to you, then it wasn’t happening.

Eventually, her body settled down from its rebellious streak, though her breaths still came out ragged and short. She stood to her full height, which admittingly wasn’t that much, and continued down the stairs towards the bar. She wiped the blood she had coughed up on her torn jeans before, weaving through the throng of people standing in the entrance to the Afterlife.. The guard at the main door nodded his head at her as she approached, opening the door when she stepped past the crowd.

“Thanks,” V muttered, just loud enough to be heard over the noise of the crowd. She slipped through the door, entering the bar proper. A tightness formed in her chest as she did. The last time she was here was with Jackie. He was so giddy that day, so sure they had finally hit their big break. If only he knew what it would cost. If only they both knew.

V pushed the grief to the back of her mind. She was here for a reason and couldn’t let herself be distracted. She wiped a hand over her face, noting that it came back bloody once more. Probably from one of the nosebleeds her ripperdoc had warned her of. There was a bathroom near the entrance that she quickly ducked into. The mirror revealed the truly horrible state she was in. Her eyes were sunken in slightly, and her usual vibrant purple hair hung down in a limp tangled mess. A line of blood, smeared slightly from her wandering hands, had trickled out of her nose.

She splashed some water on her face as she made sure to clean up the leftover blood. Without the blood dripping out of her nose she looked marginally better. Still a far cry from where she had been before getting shot in the head, but that was probably a good enough excuse. She stared at her reflection once more, her brown eyes staring right back. It was the only thing about herself she hadn't altered in some way. Even when she had upgraded optics installed, she had insisted on her eye color staying the same. Some sense of individuality she supposed, considering that eyecolor was usually one of the first things people would change about themselves.

She shook her head, pushing away from the sinks with a huff and straightening the jacket she was wearing. It was an old brown Samurai jacket she had found a few years ago during her nomad days. While she had held no special love for the old band, a point her newest guest was quite miffed with, she had bought the jacket during a hard winter and the damn thing had kept her from freezing to death in her car. Since then it had more than proven it’s worth so she made it a part of her permanent wardrobe.

After that quick trip down memory lane, and a pat down to make sure everything was still in place, she exited the bathroom striding up to the bar. Claire noticed her, and she set down the glass she had been cleaning,“Hey, V. Wasn’t expecting you here so soon.”

V grimaced, “Yeah, well, got something I need to take care of.” She brushed off the look Clair was giving her, “By chance, do you know where Rogue is right now?”

“Sure,” Clair pointed to a small partly walled-off area. “She’s in her usual hidey-hole.”

V nodded her thanks to the bartender and stalked off towards the alcove. A guard stood in her way, trying to look intimidating. On any other day, it would have worked, but the death sentence that now loomed over V’s head left her uncaring of the tactic.

“Need to see Rogue,” She said, standing straight and looking the large man in the eyes. She could see the slight apprehension in the man’s tense shoulders. “Got some biz for her.”

“Let her through,” A female voice spoke. V leaned around the guard, glimpsing the infamous Rogue. She looked almost exactly like she had in Johnny’s memories. Different clothes, but still her. She was talking to another woman who was dressed in what V recognized as nomad clothes. Rugged jeans and a jacket that had the Aldecado’s symbol on it.

The guard moved to the side, giving V a clear path through. As V stepped into the alcove, she noticed how the noise of the bar died down considerably to give its user a comfortable talking volume. The woman talking to Rogue glanced in V’s direction before turning back to Rogue. “Go fuck yourself,” She stormed past V, “Be careful who you bargain with.”

Rogue hummed as V made her way to the couch before speaking, “Hmm. Not here, not there, Who’re you?” 

“Name’s V,” The young merc offered. “Need some information, was pointed in your direction.”

Rogue’s eyes scanned every inch of V as Johnny glitched into existence, sitting on the back of the couch He did his own scan of the old mercenary, his glasses dangling from his hand as he stared, “Damn, it really is her, Fucking Rogue, just kickin’ back on a couch in the Afterlife.” The voice seemed real, sound to her ears like Johnny Silverhand was there speaking out loud. But V knew it was only in her head. 

“You think she’ll help us?” V said in head hoping she didn’t give any indication she was talking to voices in her head.

“Yeah, she’ll help, for a price,” Johnny answered, giving a shrug of his shoulders and a quick, infuriating smirk. 

Rogue spoke again, drawing V’s attention from Johnny, “Why do you think I’d have anything to offer you? Especially after all the bodies you’ve left behind?” Rogue had finished her examination and her eyes were now staring unerringly into V’s.

“Cause you know just about everything that goes on in Night City,” V leaned forward, propping her leg on the table. “And I know you were there, the night Johnny Silverhand died. Saw him get taken out by Adam Smasher, so I know you got a trail of bodies behind you too.” She had just played her ace. Hopefully, it wasn’t too early.

Rogue raised an eyebrow, her eyes once again flitting over V’s form. “Sit,” There was no force behind her word, but it still carried her brand of authority behind it. A smirk adorned Rogue’s face as V complied, sitting next to the older merc. “Few people know about that night. How did you come by that information?”

“Mutual acquaintances,” V’s eyes darted over to the still visible Johnny. “They told me you could help find someone.”

“Did they now,” Rogue relaxed into the bench seat they both were on. “That might be true, depending on who you’re looking for, and what price you’re willing to pay.”

“I got the eddies, don’t worry about that,” V’s elbows rested on her knee’s hands clasping together as she spoke. “Looking for Anders Hellman. Need to find him as soon as possible. Matter of life or death.”

“V, this is NC, everything is a matter of life and death, and getting information like that takes time.”

V winced, she should have known that would be the response. This wasn’t the Bakkers, and Jackie was gone. She had no one standing behind her now, except some rockerboy terrorist.

“Love ya to V,” Johnny said from his spot on the other side of Rogue.

“But, it just so happens I was already gathering it for another client,” Rogue said as she pulled out a pack of cigarettes. She selected one, lighting it up and taking a long drag. She offered one to V, who declined with a wave of her hand. 

“You were already gathering information on Hellman, for who?”

“Come on V, you know how this works, I can’t just go around revealing my clients,” Rogue’s smirk returned after another drag off her cigarette. “That’d be bad for business.”

“Then just give me the information and I’ll be outta your hair.” She was starting to get frustrated. If this lead turned into a dead-end, she’d be in deep shit. She needed that information to even begin trying to stop the chip in her head from killing her. “I just need to talk to him, that’s all. I’ll even pay a good price.” V hated the way Rogue’s smirk grew into a grin. She knew she had the dying woman now, and any amount of eddies she wanted. 

Their game was interrupted when Rogue’s guard spoke up, but not to them, “Sir, I going to have to ask-”

“Ask all you want I’ll still talk to her,” Rogue paled at the sound of the accented voice. A man poked his head around the large guard, his unkempt hair flying in every direction. Green eyes, which seemed to glow in the dim light of the bar, darted between Rogue, V, and seemingly Johnny before settling back on Rogue. A carefree grin sat on the man’s face that only grew as he spoke, “Rogue! You miss me?” 

He stepped around the guard with an easy nonchalance, hands in the pockets of his red and gold coat as he strolled into the alcove. His dark green shirt hung loosely over a pair of sturdy pants. Both Johnny and Rogue were now staring at the man, though for different reasons. Rogue glared at him, her arms crossed in anger. The dead rockerboy however watched him with undisguised shock. 

“No fucking way,” Johnny’s voice was low and breathy with surprise.

“What?” V asked, her curiosity piqued.

“He should be dead,” Johnny's voice was strained. “He was around during  _ my _ death.”

V frowned, “And? So was Rogue.” Though a second glance showed a bit of what Johnny was talking about. Rogue, although appearing young for her age, still looked old to if someone was looking closely This man didn’t look any older than V herself.

Johnny shook his head, “You don’t understand, he has no cyberware, nothing. I don’t think he’d ever seen a ripperdoc, and it doesn't look like that’s changed.”

V scanned him with her kiroshi optics, confirming what Johnny said. There were no cybernetics anywhere in the newcomer’s body. In fact, there was nothing on him. Facial recognition returned as unknown, DNA scanning the same thing. It was like this man didn’t exist at all. 

“Why are you here, Potter?” Rogue said through clenched teeth. 

If the man, now named Potter, was perturbed at all by Rogue’s demeanor, he didn’t show it. Instead, he pouted dramatically, plopping himself on the other side of Rogue, “Back on last name basis again, what did I do this time?”

Rogue growled at Potter, scooting away from him towards V. “You know I don’t like it when you just appear in my bar.” Her glare had still not abated. 

Potter shrugged, “Wanted to check, see if you had that information I asked for. Considering you never answer my messages, I decided to visit.” Rogue’s eyes darted over to V for a moment.

V shared a glance with Johnny, hoping they were both on the same page. If Potter was the other client Rogue had spoken of, V would now hold the cards again. The likelihood of that being the case was small, but V had nothing left to lose at the moment, so she took her gamble, “That information… wouldn’t happen to be about Anders Hellman?”

His unearthly green eyes locked onto her’s. She could see Potter’s grin growing as his eyes roamed across her. She felt naked in front of this man, even though he didn’t look at her with lust in his eyes like most did. Simple curiosity drove his gaze, and it unnerved the merc like nothing else. “It might be,” He stood slightly, leaning around Rogue to extend his hand to V. “Harry Potter, at your service, and who might you be?”

V grasped his hand, noting the odd calluses on it, and answered with a grin of her own, “Name’s V, why are you interested in Hellman?”

“There was a project he was working on,” Harry said as he sat back down. “You could say I’m an… invested party in his work.” There was a twinkle in his eyes and once again they seemed to flick towards Johnny, “I recently got word he left Arasaka, which would be a first for anyone that high in the corp’s food chain.”

“Yeah, got that same word,” V’s grin was at Cheshire cat levels as she saw Rogue begin to squirm. “Was just talking to Rogue here about him when you showed up. Guess we got a… Mutual interest.”

“It truly seems that way,” he leaned back into the couch, his own grin matching V’s.

Rogue chose this moment to intervene again. V could tell she was nervous, likely because the conversation was no longer in her favor. “That’s all well and dandy, but who says I’m going to just hand over that info.”

“The amount of eddies I’ve already deposited into your account does,” The grin never dropped off Harry’s face even as the tone of his voice lowered. “And I believe this solves the problem of delivery. You did say you were having trouble transferring it off the shard, right?”

“Considering the archaic form you demand your information in,” Rogue said with a sneer.

“Oi! At least I’m not asking you to write it down with quill and parchment,” Harry shuddered, “Believe me, writing with a quill is torturous.” He then gestured to V. “Besides, we have our solution sitting right here with us. Give her the shard and she can relay the information to me.”

“I can’t just hand over shards like that. That’s not how this works.”

“It’s my information, I’ve already paid in full,” Harry said with a dismissive wave. “Who I decide to give my stuff to is none of your business. Besides, I’ll even let you keep the extra eddies I sent to transfer the info off the shard.” He pointed at V again, “So give her the shard and let’s get on with the debrief.”

Rogue’s scowl stayed on her face as she practically threw the shard at V. She caught it and inserted it into her cyberware. Information flew across her eye as she downloaded the contents. “Huh, he’s being transported in a Chinese military AV,” V’s ran a hand through her hair as she continued sorting through the info. 

“Kang Tao,” Rogue said, “Got the AV routes on there. I’m guessing you can see which one?”

“Yeah, got no manifests for that one, and too low a load for smuggling. Got a VIP transfer from QianT.”

“Would make sense, QianT is how Kang Tao does business in NC,” Harry said. “Now the question is how do we bring it down.”

“That’s where the problem starts,” Rogue leaned back into the couch. “Night City airspace is out and the AV travels through Kang Tao territory as well.”

“So we have to hit it outside both, in Jackson Plains,” The map V was looking at showed a location outside of Night City in the badlands. “Any nomads in the area? Could be good to have someone who knows the terrain.”

“The Aldecados are in the area,” V’s eyes snapped to Harry as he spoke. “Any of them working in NC?”

“Just one,” Rogue seemed a bit more relaxed now that they were just talking business. “Panam Palmer. Though from what I understand she’s hit a rough patch with her clan so she’s been working for me.”

“That poor girl,” Harry was grinning again

“Shut the fuck up Potter,” Rogue’s teeth clenched as the tension return to her body. “I don’t tell you how to run your business.”

“You don’t even know what businesses I run.”

“You know what I’m fucking done with you,” Rogues finger jammed into Harry’s chest. “Get out of my bar, I’ll have your new fucking chew toy give you the rest of the info.” She waved a hand in V’s direction, “And if you need anything else from me go through her, I’m fucking done dealing with you.”

There was a dramatic gasp from Harry who held a hand to his chest, “I’m wounded, whatever will I do when I have to get my Rogue fix,” Rogue once again growled at him. “But I can see you’ve had enough of my charm, I’ll leave.” He made a show of holding his hands in the air as he stood and made his way out of the alcove, “V, I’ll be outside when you’ve finished with miss grumpy pants over here.”

“Yeah, no problem, I’ll meet you outside then,” V said as she gave him a lazy salute which he returned. He brushed past the guard and sauntered out of the bar, leaving the two women alone. 

“Fuck, I hate that man,” Rogue pulled out another cigarette, lighting it quickly to take a long draw. Smoke curled out of her mouth as she exhaled. “Drives, me up the fucking wall.”

“I can tell,” V said with barely concealed amusement. Rogue just glared at her, taking another drag of her cigarette.

“Anyway, I believe I was about to tell you about my contact,” And like that, the two mercs moved back to business.

___________________________________________________________________

V found Harry leaning against an old blue motorcycle. His eyes were closed as his foot tapped to an unknown beat. V took notice of a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead, now visible out of the dark atmosphere of the bar. 

As V approached him, his eyes opened, an amiable smile stretching across his face. “Done dealing with the queen of the afterlife, then?”

V couldn’t help the smile that crept onto her face as well, “Yeah, her royal highness gave me the deets of her surf. Just gotta call her and set something up. Gotta help the contact out first though, get back some stolen merchandise and a vehicle before she helps us though.”

Harry nodded, “Sounds good, I’ll leave that to you,” He rummaged around his pockets before pulling out a slip of paper and handing it to V. “Here's my number, call me when you’re ready to go after Hellman.”

V took the offered paper. Her eyebrow raised as she realized it wasn’t any kind of paper she had felt before. “Parchment, really?”

Harry shrugged, “Hey I said quills were torturous, I happen to actually like parchment.”

V opened the paper, her cyberware automatically adding Harry's number to her contacts. She folded it back up and stuck it in her pocket. “I gotta ask, why are you after Hellman?”

“For the same reason you are,” Harry folded his arm in front of his chest. “That biochip with Silverhand, that’s been shoved in your head.”

V’s eyes widened, “How do you know about that?”

“I have my ways,” His eyes softened, “I also know it’s killing you right now. Trying to replace you with Johnny.”

Her breath quickened as her heart started beating in her ears. This, unfortunately, caused the chip to act up, sending her into a coughing fit as she collapsed. Strong arms wrapped around her before she hit the ground. A blurry image of Harry hovered over her. He held a small thin stick in his hand and was waving it over her body as he mumbled under his breath.

V’s vision popped back into full clarity. The pain in her head had died down to a dull ache. “What the fuck was that?”

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not,” Harry leaned back on his heels, still crouched down beside V. “You’re being possessed in the most painful way possible. Don't know how that fulfills any definition of fine.”

“I barely know you, forgive me if I don’t go telling you all my secret feelings and shit,” V said with a growl as she sat up.

“See, that’s a fair answer,” Harry was grinning once more. “Telling me to bugger off and mind my business.” He pulled out a small glass vial, “Completely reasonable, now drink this.” 

“What is it?” V frowned at the substance. 

“Pain reliever,” Harry sighed as V glared at him again. He shoved it into her hand and pushed it up to her lips. “Drink, it’ll help.”

V rolled her eyes and drank, grimacing at the taste, “Gah, that’s fucking awful.”

“At least it’s not skele-gro,” V’s eyebrow raised at his odd words, but he waved it off. “Not important. Now let's get you up,” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and lifted her. He held on till she was steady on her feet, then took a few steps back. “There we go. No good having a pretty woman like you lying on the ground.”

V huffed, shooting a glare at Harry, “I can see now how Rogue would be annoyed at you.”

“All part of my charm,” Harry flashed her a smirk. “Now we should talk about the rockerboy in her head.”

V pinched the bridge of her nose, “How the hell do you even know about that?”

“Trade secrets,” Harry folded his arms across his chest. “Suffice to say, I know quite a lot about Soulkiller and all the… related subjects.” He scowled, his eyes flashing with anger. “I’d like to put an end to it, which is why I was asking after Hellman.”

“As long as you don’t kill him before I get my word in,” First Takemura wanted Hellman, now Harry. “I need him to give me details on this biochip in my head.”

“Of course, I understand,” Harry said with a wave of his hand. “I’d like to help when you go after him and be there when you talk to him. I hope that’s not too much of a request.”

“That… should be fine,” V said. She tapped her thumb against her thigh as she mentally planned out the next few days. She had much to do with the little time she had left. “Got some other business in the city first. Gotta go after the lady that gave me the job that got this,” She rubbed her neck where the biochip sat, “Stuck in my head. Hellman isn’t scheduled to fly over for almost a week.”

“Brilliant sounds great,” Harry turned and swung a leg over the blue motorcycle. “Just call me when you're ready to go after him. Or, hell, call if you need help with anything. Storming a castle, saving a damsel, that sort of thing.” He winked at her as his bike rumbled to life. “I’ll be seeing you around V.”

“Yeah, see ya around,” V gave a lazy salute as he roared off. There was a moment of silence before she spoke into thin air, “So what do you think?”

“I think he’s hiding something fucking big,” Johnny glitched into existence next to her. “He was always a bit mysterious and full of cryptic bullshit when I knew him. Seems that hasn’t changed.”

“Were him and Rogue always at each other’s throats?”

“No, that’s a new thing,” Johnny flicked a digital cigarette on the ground. “I don’t even think she held that kinda hate for me.” He followed V and she made her way to Jackie’s bike. “V be careful with him. He always knew more than he let on. Fucking creepy, like he could read my mind or something.”

V threw her leg over the bike, settling down on it with a soft sigh, “I’ll be careful Johnny, I always am.” 

“The bullet in your head says different,” V ignored him as she took off, tires squealing to drown out Johnny and her thoughts.


	2. Chapter 2

V and Judy stared at the large complex that they both knew held Evelyn Parker, from the relative safety of Judy’s van. The power plant was set back from the road, surrounded by a large, gated fence. Several scavs patrolled the area, holding various weapons, from rifles, pistols, and even some swords.

“This the place?” V asked, already scanning the area with her cyberware.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure,” Judy ran a hand through her hair. “Based on the info you grabbed. She’s gotta be in there.”

V pinched the bridge of her nose, fighting off the coming headache. Whatever Harry had given her was preem stuff. It had lasted for nearly two days and hadn’t left her feeling sluggish like most painkillers. But it was still wearing off. That combined with the lack of sleep as she and Judy worked to find Evelyn left her fighting off a headache once more. 

“Shit… fuck, that’s a lot of scavs in there,” V said.

“So what you gonna just-”

“No,” V snapped, interrupting Judy. “I won’t leave her in there. Wouldn’t leave my worst enemy to scavs.”

“Speak for yourself,” Johnny chimed in.

Judy pushed her breath through her nose, closing her eye’s for a moment before speaking again, “Sorry I just… Damn it, Evelyn.”

“I know,” V sighed, placing a hand on Judy’s shoulder. The mox leaned into the touch slightly. “My problem is I’m not used to doin’ jobs like this without backup.” V’s thoughts wandered back to Jackie. “Gotta rethink the way I do things nowadays.”

Judy raised an eyebrow, “You had a partner?”

V nodded, removing her hand from Judy’s shoulder. She stared at it, remembering the blood that had covered it. All of it Jackie’s, “Yeah, he...died during the... excitement at Konpeki.”

Judy’s eyes widened as she scanned over V. After a moment she placed her hand on top of V’s. “I’m sorry, guess we’re both not used to doing things alone.” Judy’s shoulders straightened, “I know how to use a gun, I could-”

V shook her head, brushing off Judy’s hand, “You're more useful to Evelyn once we get her out.” She twisted around in her seat, grabbing a pistol and rifle from her bag in the back. “I’ll have to try and be sneaky about it though.”

“If you used to work with a partner, I don’t know if I like the idea of you doin’ this solo,” Judy’s eyes were pleading with her. Her hands were clenched on the steering wheel. 

V checked her guns, making sure everything was loaded, and that she carried enough ammo. Thankfully, she had picked up a couple of extra jobs, making herself enough eddies to keep her ammo up. As she checked her pockets, a slip of parchment fell out onto the floor of the van. Harry’s number stared up at her, reminding the merc of his parting words.

“Hey... Judy?” V looked up from the parchment. “You mind if I call someone up? See if he can help?”

Judy tensed, her eyes narrowing. V knew she was loath to work with anyone outside her group. The only reason Judy was working with V now was because it already involved her. “You trust him?” Judy asked.

“I… don’t...  _ not _ trust him,” V winced as she said those words. She still could not find anything on Harry Potter. Johnny was no help either, he knew just as much as she did. “He’s interested in the chip Evelyn got me to steal, though I don’t think he was interested in her involvement at all.”

“And you think this gonk could help?”

“Possibly?” Judy looked incredulous. V understood why, but at this moment she didn’t have many other options. “If anything, he’ll be an extra set of eyes and ears. And we could use more people in our corner.”. 

Judy sighed again, shoulders slumping, “Yeah, you’re right. And the longer we spend out here, the longer Evelyn is in there.” Judy nodded at V, “Go ahead.”

V’s contact list was already responding to her thought to call Harry. His number appeared and the sound of a ringing telephone vibrated in her ears. Two rings in, someone picked up the phone, “I swear it wasn’t my fault.” 

Harry’s smiling face appeared in the top left corner of her vision. Unlike most face cams, which often just showed a blank space around the image of the person’s face, V could see a bit of Harry’s surroundings. It was like he was holding a phone with a camera which was a very outdated piece of tech.

“Is that really how you answer a call?” V asked. 

“V! How are you,” Harry’s smile grew. “Any progress on Miss Palmer.”

“Got a meeting with her tomorrow night, but that’s not why I called,” V hoped this would work. Hoped that Harry held a shred of humanity that would allow him to help out.

“Oh? What’s the sitch then?”

V grimaced at the forced slang, “Don’t… ever say that again, doesn’t match with the British man of mystery thing you got going on.” She ignored the pout Harry gave her. “This is more in line with the other reasons you told me to call you.”

“Storming a castle, are we?”

“Does an abandoned Power plant count?”

“Eh close enough,” Harry shrugged, “And any damsels need saving?”

“Yes, Evelyn Parker,” V looked over at Judy. “She was the one who hired me for the Konpeki job. Got herself gonked for her trouble.”

“Have you found out where she is yet?” He asked, his voice light even as he focused entirely on their conversation now.

“Yeah, we’re at the place now,” V looked back out at the power-plant. 

“We?”

V looked over to Judy again. The mox nodded, giving her consent to giving out her name, “Me an’ Judy. Been tracking her down. Finally found her but-” V sighed again, closing her eyes. She still felt emotionally raw after the last couple of days. She’d been forced to bear her heart out more in the last week, then she had for her entire life. “I usually work with a partner, but he’s dead. This job’s just… a bit big for me and… I could use some help.”

There was silence on Harry’s end of the line. A look of sympathy settled onto his face and he sighed, “Ask and ye shall receive, Where are you?”

“Sending coordinates now,” V said, her cyberware sending Harry her exact location. “And thanks, I know we’ve only just met-”

“V, if there’s one thing you should know about me, I have a saving people thing,” He said with a tired smile. “It’s a sickness really, someone asks for help and I can’t stop myself from just jumping in.” There was a short huff of laughter, “Gotten me in more trouble than anything else that has.”

V was surprised, it was almost a nomad notion, helping those you could, “Not many in Night City have that kind of attitude.”

“Good thing I’m not from NC then,” Harry’s eyes looked down from the camera. His face brightened as he read whatever was on his device, “Good news though, I know where you are. Be there in a few.” With that, he ended that call.

V’s brow furrowed at the sudden ending of the call. She looked back at Judy, whose eyebrow had once again shot into her hairline, “That’s who you decide to call?”

V gave her a sheepish shrug and opened her mouth to respond. The door to the van opened, cutting off whatever she had to say. Both women shrieked and V, whose pistol was still in hand, pointed her weapon at whoever had entered the van.

The green eyes of Harry, and her trigger discipline, stopped her from putting a hole in the man’s head. It didn’t stop her from shouting at the now laughing Harry, “What the fuck! Why the fuck would you just hop in!”

“Oh, bloody hell, that was brilliant,” Harry said between guffaws. She could hear Johnny laughing as well in her head. It was enough to make her want to crawl back there and strangle Harry, considering she couldn’t do the same to Johnny.

“Close the damn door,” Judy hissed, glaring daggers at Harry. He nodded and complied, closing the door to the van even as his body was still racked with laughter.

“Sorry ‘bout that,” Harry turned, placing his arm on either seat as he leaned into the cab of the van. “I wasn’t  _ trying _ to scare you lovely ladies.”

“Next time, knock on a window or something,” V said, lowering her gun. They both ignored the affronted look that Judy was giving Harry.

Harry gave her a cheeky smirk, his eyes twinkling with mirth, “As you wish.” He clasped his hand together and pointed out towards the complex in front of them. “Now, do we have any plans for getting in there and saving our distressed damsel?” 

V frowned and sighed, “Most of their forces seem to be concentrated to this first level. Normally I’d just sneak in, grab whatever we were stealin’ and then blast my way out, but…”

“You think we’ll have to carry her out?” 

“Yeah, from what Woodman told me, she’s unresponsive,” V ran a hand through her hair, “Someone messed with her doll implant. When they couldn’t fix it, they tossed her out like a piece of trash.”

“They’re usin’ her for some XBDs,'' Judy chimed in, “Probably havin’ a field day in there with her.”

Harry looked over at Judy, seeming to see her for the first time. His eyes softened as he patted Judy’s shoulder, “I’m sorry. I know what it's like to be where you are.” 

Judy scoffed, though she didn’t object to his hand on her shoulder, “Just… just get her out of there.”

“You have my word,” He clapped his hands together, “Now down to business.” Harry reached into his coat, pulling out a small leather drawstring bag. He then stuck his arm into the bag, to the elbow. Both Judy and V stared at him as he rummaged around in the too-small bag. 

He drew out a sword with a golden hilt and silver blade. A ruby glinted from the pommel of the sword, reflecting the surrounding streetlights. He handed the sword to V, “Be careful, the blade is poisoned, there is no cure.” Judy jerked her hand away after having reached out to touch the beautiful blade.

He then stuck his arm back into the bag, this time pulling out several older looking fireworks. He then tucked the bag back into his coat before taking the sword back from a stunned V, “Right, you ready?”

“Ready for what?” Despite her confusion, V still grabbed her pistol, tucking it into the holster on her belt. “You haven’t told us your plan.”

“Just a little marauding mixed with some Weasley mayhem,” His signature roguish smirk back and he winked at V as he opened the van door and lept out. V scrambled out as well, grabbing her rifle as she followed Harry.

“Yeah, that still doesn’t tell me a fuckin’ thing,” V kept her voice low. No matter what Harry did, she didn’t want the scav’s attention before it was necessary. “So you might want to give me more info on what you’re planning.”

Harry looked behind him, a smirk still firmly on his face. “Shock and awe, V. Shock and awe,” With that he tossed the fireworks into the air. In the same motion, a thin stick sprang out of his forearm and settled into his hand. He gave it a wave as the fireworks reached the apex of their arc. 

They all ignited and shot off into the air and down just beyond the tall fence. Several shouts and explosions broke the quiet night. Red, green, and purple sparks danced about on the other side of the fence as chaos descended on the scavs.

“Stay behind me, make sure no one flanks us, got it?” Harry strode towards the door as he spoke.

V checked her rifle, ensuring it was loaded, “Yeah, I got it. What’s the plan for cover?”

“Leave that to me,” Harry stopped in front of the large gate. “Ready?”

“Ready,” V said, bringing the rifle to her shoulder.

Harry lifted his arm, still holding the stick, and pointed at the gate. A loud boom shook the surrounding air, drowning out the fireworks. There was a screech of tearing metal as the gate was torn away from the fencing. It flew across the compound, crushing two scavs when it landed.

Harry stalked into the complex, V following close behind. His sword flashed out, neatly beheading one of the scavs. V’s gunfire took out another as they waltzed past the chaos that the fireworks were causing. 

One of the scavs sent a quick burst of gunfire in their direction. Harry flicked the stick he was holding up, and the bullets pinged off an invisible shield. V took out the scav with a few shots from her rifle. Another one jumped over some boxes, holding a machete. Before she could land, Harry’s sword had pierced her chest. He drew it back, letting the scav fall to the ground in a heap.

Several scavs poured out of the large garage door, guns up and trained on the two intruders. With a wave of the stick in his hand, all the various boxes either flew or skidded towards them, crushing and pinning all of them. 

“There we go,” Harry turned on the spot, looking around before looking back at V. “That was fun!”

The compound was silent, except for the fireworks that were still going off. V lowered her rifle slowly, staring open-mouthed at the surrounding carnage. None of the scavs were left standing. “The fuck was that?!”

Harry didn’t answer. Instead, he swaggered off, entering the building properly. V growled and followed, her rifle held up. As they passed the pile of boxes and bodies, Harry waved his hand sending the whole mess outside the building He held up his stick once more, giving it a swish and turning around, his eyes scanning walls and floors, “Seems this level is empty, got at least four or five more below us.”

Before V could respond, there was a yell from their side. A single scav had hidden just beyond the garage door opening and was now charging at V and Harry, brandishing a barbed wire-wrapped baseball bat. He swung at V, who leaned back, barely avoiding the blow. She stepped to the side, letting the scavs' momentum send him stumbling past her as she brought up her pistol, sending one shot into his head which exploded. He dropped to the ground with a wet splat, blood and other fluids pooling out onto the floor.

V looked over at Harry, a single eyebrow raised imperiously, “This floor’s clear, huh?”

Harry gave her a sheepish shrug, “In my defense. It has been a while.”

V rolled her eyes, sauntering past him towards the elevator, “Having performance issues, are we? Maybe it has to do with that  _ little stick _ of yours.”

“Oi! I’ll have you know, my wand is a perfectly reasonable size.”

“So you call it a wand, huh?” She looked over her shoulder, giving him a smirk. “A bit weird, but hey, I’m not judging.”

Harry pouted as they stepped onto the elevator, though the way his eyes were filled with mirth told V he was enjoying their exchange, “Evelyn should be on this floor. And the rest of the scavs as well.” He looked over at V as she holstered her pistol again. “You’re taking all this very well by the way.”

V sighed, “Yeah, well, I’m on a job right now. No matter what kinda weird bullshit you pull, I gotta stay focused.” She gave him a pointed look, “I will have some questions later though, just so you know.”

“Fair enough,” As the elevator slowed down, he held out his wand. “When the doors open, I’ll create a shield. Don’t worry about getting shot, just take them down quickly.”

V nodded, bringing her rifle up as the elevator doors opened. Several bullets pinged off Harry’s shield. V’s rifle barked as she sent her response. The two scavs fell to her barrage, leaving the hallway clear. 

Harry and V advanced, the merc checking every nook and cranny for more enemies. She found none. No one else was here except the bodies of other victims. Corpses littered tables and bathtubs in varying states of decay. They had cut most of them open as well. The scavs having harvested them for anything useful.

Harry kept his wand in front of him while he held his sword at his side. A large glass room was on their left as they rounded a corner. It was the same room V had seen in the raw BD she and Judy had used to find the place. Two people stood inside, too focused on whatever they were doing to notice V or Harry.

“Perceptive bunch aren’t they,” Harry chuckled

“Yeah, no one said these gonks were smart,” V crouched down and entered the room, sneaking up behind one of the scavs. She noticed Harry make his way to the other one, drawing his sword back for an attack.

As Harry stabbed the man in the back, V’s arms wrapped around the neck of the man in front of her. He struggled and clawed at her grip, but there was a reason she had upgraded to gorilla arms. With a quick twist of his head, there was a wet pop, and the man slumped to the ground. 

“Well, that’s that,” Harry said, as he twirled his sword around absently. “Now all that’s left is our damsel.” 

“Yep,” V looked around the small room, her eyes landing on the chair in the center. The one she remembered from the BD. The memory of the pain she had felt while living through the last moments of the person sent shivers down her spine. “I’m surprised they don’t keep her in here though. Got most of the equipment here.” She stepped over the scav on the floor and jacked into the computer, quickly breaching its security and downloading the data, and a good amount of eddies. “She’s in the next room over, They have her hooked up at the moment.” 

Harry nodded and swept out of the room, “Can you disconnect her from the system.”

V shook her head as they fell into step together, “Not from here, and she’s jacked in right now, we can’t just yank her out. Unfortunately, I don’t know how to disconnect her safely. I can call Judy, though.”

Harry waved a hand at her dismissively, “Nah, I got it. Just don’t enjoy doing it my way.” 

They entered the spare room to find Evelyn laying on the ground. A cable was plugged into her jack, and her eyelids were part way open as she stared blankly at nothing. Harry couched down over her and waved his wand over her body, grimacing as he did so.

“How bad?” V asked as she couched opposite of him.

“Bad enough,” Harry responded. He slipped his wand back up his sleeve and laid his sword on the ground. “Hold her head up, I need eye contact.” V complied, lifting the woman by her shoulders and cradling her head with her arms. Harry placed his hands on Evelyn’s temples, “Legilimens.” 

Evelyn’s eyes snapped open, locking with Harry’s. Silence reigned in the small room, which was enough for Johnny to decide to chime in, “You seein’ what I’m seein’?”

“Not now, Johnny,” V hissed back.

“V, I know you’re too trusting for your fucking good, but even you gotta admit,” The rockerboy crouched down to the side of the group. Sunglasses in his hand as he stared at V. “This whole thing is sketchy as fuck.”

“Wonderful, that’s great,” V scowled at the rockerboy. “Right now I got a dyin’ girl in my lap, so save it.”

“You an’ him just cleared a scav camp in a matter of seconds, that ain’t fuckin’ natural V.”

“I said stow it! We can deal with this later.” 

Before Johnny could say anything else, Harry broke the trance he and Evelyn were in. He yanked out the cable in the back of her head before leaning back on his heels and rubbing his head, “Gah I hate doing that, gives me such a headache.”

V pushed the conversation with Johnny to the back of her mind, “She good?” 

Harry nodded, “Yeah, she’s fine. Besides the trauma of everything that was done to her. I’ll need more time for that though,” He reached out and grabbed his sword from the floor. He slipped it back into the bag he had pulled out before. “I’ll carry her, I can still shield us with her in my arms. I don’t think we’ll have any unexpected guests, but as an old professor used to say... Constant Vigilance.” 

“I think that’s called paranoia.”

Harry chuckled, “Well yeah, but he was paranoid, and for good reason.” Harry slipped his arms under the comatose woman, lifting her bridal style. “Now come on. I’d like to get somewhere more secure than this.” V nodded, bringing her rifle up as they made their way back outside.

They made it to Judy’s van unmolested. V opened the door and Harry gently laid Evelyn down. Judy watched them, mostly focusing on the unmoving form of the woman they just rescued. 

“She gonna be ok?” Judy’s voice wavered slightly as she reached to stroke Evelyn’s cheek. 

“She’s fine for now,” Harry sat down in the back of the van, holding the woman so as not to jostle her too much. “Can we get somewhere so I can examine her fully? I’ll know more then.”

“My place,” Judy turned back in her seat. She started the van as V hopped into the passenger seat. “Can you help her?”

“I promise I will do everything in my power to help her,” Both V and Judy exchanged looks, noticing his phrasing but saying nothing as they drove off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this story has gripped me something fierce. Wrote about six thousand words in two chapters over the course of about five days. Never done that before. By the way, thank you all for the response to the first chapter. It means a lot. Now I'll be working on the next chapter of Vader's Last Apprentice before I continue this story. Gotta make sure I'm treating both my babies equally. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

“So… we gonna talk about it now,” Johnny’s voice grated against V’s brain. She held her head in her hands, rubbing her temples to fight off the migraine and ignore the man Johnny sat on Judy’s coffee table, facing the couch where V currently sat. Cigarette hanging from his mouth.

She was alone in Judy’s living room. As soon as they had gotten here, Harry had taken over the bedroom. Citing the need for quiet and a place to lay Evelyn down. Judy had shown him the bedroom then sequestered herself in her BD editing den.

“V.” 

“Fine,” V said through clenched teeth. “You wanna talk let’s talk. What’s the complaint now?”

“Who shoved a stick up your ass?” Johnny said, exhaling a puff of smoke.

V’s head snapped up so she could glare at Johnny. “You, you shoved a stick up my ass by bein’ in my head with your.. Incessant... Fucking... Chatter. You’re like a kid in the backseat,  _ are we there yet, are we there yet.” _ .

“Forgive me for bein’ fucking curious about our newest addition,” Johnny held his hands up in mock surrender.

“I know just as much as you Johnny, which is jack shit,” V jabbed a finger in Johnny’s direction. “So.. we could spend our time, talkin’ ‘bout all the jack shit we know.” She leaned forward, eyes narrowing, “Or maybe grow some fucking patience and wait for more information.”

“Time isn’t on our side V, you know that.” Johnny took a drag on his cigarette. “Besides, we have more than enough information to go over.” He shuffled forward, getting into V’s personal space. “Like the fact that this guy can clear a scavs den in seconds.”

V shook her head, “Grah, you are so fixated on that.”

“Cause it’s fucking notable. Pretty sure he could’ve done it without your help too.” Johnny flicked his cigarette on the floor where it disappeared in a shower of digital sparks. “Could’ve used someone like that back at Arasaka. Might still be alive then.”

“Oh... so that’s what this is,” V said in a breathy whisper before chuckling, “It’s not about what he did, it’s about what he didn’t do for you?” She poked his chest with a finger before scowling at him, “Should’ve known.”

Before Johnny could respond Judy burst out of her hidey-hole, a manic gleam in her eyes. “I fuckin’ knew I heard of the gonk somewhere,” She said, sitting down where Johnny had just been. “Finally found our little mystery man.”

“Where’d you even find info on him,” V asked. “I’ve looked everywhere I could.”

“Cause, it’s on private servers, only accessible by the Mox.”

V slouched back into the couch as she processed what Judy said. Made sense, the Mox were notorious for keeping things close to their chest. Kept them safe in a place like Night City. “What’d you find?”

“Apparently he was listed as one of the founding members of the Moxes, A silent one though. I don’t think many know about his involvement at all,” Judy shifted nervously, her hands rubbing against her knees. “But the data’s there. Things had died down from the riots Lizzie’s death had caused. Then he shows up. Drops enough eddies down to rebuild the bar three times over. Only asks for one thing. A plaque to be put near the front doors.”

“That’s it?” V’s brow furrowed. “A plaque? For that amount of eddies?”

“It gets weirder,” Judy said, running a hand through her hair. “First the plaque itself. All it says is ‘Death’s Master Watches Us’ in traditional Japanese kanji. The second thing, there's been no Tyger Claw presence at the bar since that day.”

“But the Moxes and Tyger Claw’s fight all the time,” It was one reason V rarely worked with Wakako Okada. While the woman’s only real ties with the Tyger Claws were her sons, V had always been more sympathetic to the Mox. Given that, they almost reminded her of a nomad clan.

“Yeah, but that’s at all the other spots the Mox have a hand in,” Judy waved her hand dismissively, “But Lizzie’s Bar? Hasn’t seen so much as a Tyger toe since the day he dropped those eddies. No one’s seen him since either. He just disappeared, poof, gone” 

“Well, isn’t that interesting,” Johnny said from beside her. V clenched her teeth, fighting off the urge to swat at him. 

“Did you find anything else?” V asked in an attempt to ignore Johnny.

“Nah, nothin’ else on him,” Judy said, shaking her head. “It’s barely anything as it is. Just a small blurb in our history.” V sighed. It was more information than she had found. But it still wasn’t much. 

“It’s more than we had before,” Johnny said. “And, considering what we witnessed at that scav camp, I think we have a good guess as to what he did with the Tyger Claws.”

“Where’d you even meet him?” Judy's question interrupted the response V had for Johnny.

“I…,” That was all V got out before a coughing fit doubled her over. She attempted to stand, trying to get to a bathroom to cough up a lung in peace. Instead, her legs rebelled, sending her first into Judy then onto the floor. She vaguely heard Judy calling her name, the static in her ears made it hard to hear anything. Judy’s face swam in front of her, the glitches in her optics causing it to distort and stretch.

Eventually, V’s body stopped trying to kill her. Judy was holding her now, having slipped onto the floor and pulled V onto her lap. V let her head rest against Judy’s leg as her breathing slowed down and her body stopped shaking. Judy had rested her hand on V’s hair, which was pleasant for the merc, but strange. The only other person to hold her like that had been Mama Welles when V had gotten drunk at a party at Jackie’s suggestion.

“What the hell, V? You like… Sick or something?” Judy asked, concern filling her eyes.

V pulled herself out of Judy’s grasp and propped herself up against the front of the couch. She took a moment to gather her thoughts before responding. “I… I’m dyin’. Got… maybe a few weeks left,” V said, rubbing her forehead to quiet the pain.

Judy’s mouth formed a small oh just before she looked away. “Fuck,” She said, hanging her head and letting her hair fall in front of her eyes. “That’s… I don’t… Shit.”

V smirked, “Yeah, that was about my reaction. Though, I was a bit more long-winded and colorful about it.”

There was a small chuckle from Judy as she gave V a sideways glance, “Ah... you know why?”

“Remember... the heist, Evelyn hired us for, the... Relic I was gonna klep?” 

Judy snorted, “Pretty sure I won’t be forgetting that anytime soon.”

“Yeah, well… it’s killin’ me. It had an engram of Johnny Silverhand, and it’s slowly rewritin’ my mind to his,” V let her head thump against the couch cushion. 

“Shit,” Judy curled into herself, hugging her knees to her chest as the two women sat there in silence for a moment. “Dammit, I told Evie that heist was no good. It’s cost us way too much.”

V nodded, “Believe me I know, just about everyone involved is either dead or on the way out.”

Their conversation was interrupted when Harry walked out of Judy’s bedroom. He had taken off his coat, now just wearing his black pants and green button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up. There were bags under his eyes, and his wand dangled from his loose grip. Despite this, he still managed a small smile as he spoke, “She’s going to be fine.” Both V and Judy let out a sigh of relief as Harry made his way to the couch. He flopped down with a sigh of his own, letting his body relax into the comfortable couch. “Does anyone want something to drink? I could go for a firewhiskey right now.”

Before either woman could respond, Harry waved his wand. A glass bottle appeared along with three glasses. Judy scrambled away from the table, eyes wide, “What the fuck?”

“I will admit,” Harry said as he picked up the bottle and started pouring, “I probably shouldn’t be giving you lot firewhiskey. But right now, I could care less.” He put down the bottle and grabbed a glass, sitting back on the couch as he took a sip of the whiskey. “Well go on, have a drink.”

V grabbed a glass as well, holding it by her fingertips as she swirled the liquid around. It didn’t look any different from regular whiskey, though. The smoke that poured off it was disconcerting. With a shrug, V downed half the glass. It burned down her throat as warmth spread through her entire body, like she had been sitting in front of a campfire for hours, “That’s some preem stuff.”

“Glad you think so, aged over a hundred years, and no one makes this anymore,” Harry said with a smile as he took another sip.

Judy approached the table, “How the hell did you do that?” 

“Magic,” Harry said as he looked at Judy over his glass. “It’s the same way I helped your friend in there,” He gestured towards the bedroom.

“Magic?” V’s eyebrow arched, “Like… tarot cards, tea leaves, weird symbols kinda thing?”

Harry shrugged, “Kinda, though that's more divination, never had a talent for that branch of magic,” He twirled his wand in his fingers. “I’m more talking about wand waving, potion brewing, broom riding kind of magic.”

V stared at Harry’s smiling face for a moment before slugging back the rest of her whiskey, “Gonna need more of that if we continue this conversation.” The bottle floated over to V, pouring more of the firewhiskey into her glass before floating back to the table. Judy’s eyes followed it the whole time. 

“You’re very calm about all of this,” Harry said.

V took a sip of her drink, deciding to take her time with this glass, “Oh trust me, I’m freaking out in my head.” Granted, it was more Johnny who was cursing up a storm in her head. “But right now I’m more worried about Evelynn… And you have good whiskey.”

Harry grinned at her before tilting his head to look at Judy, who was hyperventilating, "Are you alright miss? Maybe you should sit down." There was another wave of his wand and an overstuffed armchair covered in red and gold fabric materialized behind Judy. She jumped and let out a tiny yelp of surprise.

"I don't think that helped," V said. 

Harry sighed, "Probably not, but it seems like she's going to go off either way."

Judy’s attention snapped to Harry, “What are you?”

“I’m a wizard,” Harry said with a flourish of his hands. “More specifically, I’m the wizard who just helped your friend.”

“Right, yeah, just… Give me a moment,” Judy sunk into the chair Harry had summoned.

“You going to be ok Judy?” V asked, though she was pretty sure she knew the answer. Judy looked like she was about to run for it. Her eyes would dart around the room and her entire body was tense. “Maybe we should talk about Evelyn now, might get her mind off things.”

“Fair enough,” Harry leaned forward, perching himself on the edge of the couch and clasping his hands around his glass. “There are a couple of things we should go over. First, I had to remove her cyberware.”

“You can do that?” V tilted her head, her eyes betraying her eagerness. If he could, maybe she had the solution to her situation.

Harry, upon seeing the look she was giving him, grimaced slightly, “For most people yes, for you, I’m sorry, it’s not quite that easy.” 

“Can we go back to the part where you removed Evie’s cyberware?” Judy had recovered from her shock, if the glare she was giving Harry was any sign. “You know how fucking dangerous that is? What were you thinking?”

“I was treating my patient,” Harry’s voice was low and measured, reminding V of Vic when trying to explain something to her. “From what I saw, the cyberware was the primary reason she was unresponsive, so I removed that variable. I assure you, she is perfectly healthy, and if she wants to, she can get implanted again.” He sighed, the tired look creeping back into his eyes. “Trust me, that was the simplest, and least worrisome part of what I did.” Harry swirled his glass around, watching as the alcohol spun around. “I had to… remove some memories.”

Judy exploded up out of her chair. “You did fucking what?” She shrieked at Harry. 

“I had to remove some memories,” Harry repeated, unperturbed by her outburst. His eyes never wavering from Judy’s. “The trauma she went through was some of the worst I’ve seen. Frankly, I’m surprised she made it through that.”

V grimaced, she knew Evelyn had been in awful shape. She’d seen it before, a dozen times over. She was almost desensitized to that kind of violence, but this was some she knew, however vaguely, “She was really that bad off?”

“I’m afraid so," Harry finished his drink and set the glass back on the table. "I was careful to remove only the memories related to the trauma. She's still her, but she won't remember the last couple of days."

“You can do that?” Judy asked, glaring at Harry, “Just take away memories at a whim?”

“I don’t enjoy doing it,” Harry took another drink, draining the rest of his whiskey, “I don’t enjoy messing with people's minds like that. Crosses to many lines.”

V scoffed, “This is Night City. Considering how long you’ve been here you should know, there are no lines left.”

“That’s a fair point,” Harry scowled as he crossed his arms. “That still doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to be better.” He locked eyes with Judy, his face softening, “I promise you, what I did was necessary. This way she won't have to relive what she went through, and the people that did this don’t get the satisfaction of being remembered by her.” He waved his hand dismissively, “They deserve to be forgotten, so let them.”

“What, so we just let them go?” Judy’s body was still tense, her face contorted into a scowl of anger. She paced back and forth, looking like a prowling animal with how her shoulders were hunched. V understood why. It was hard to just let things go, to forget them. “We gotta make them pay.”

Harry stood, causing Judy to halt her pacing. He moved around the table to stand in front of her as he placed his hand on her shoulders, “Right now, what you have to do is be a friend, that’s it” He smiled softly, for a moment looking like a father explaining something to their kid. “Evelyn needs those more than she needs an avenging angel,” His smirk returned, “Even as much as I’m sure she would enjoy you playing that role for her.” 

Judy scoffed, but V could see the small amount of pink that tinged her cheeks. She intervened for the poor girls’ sake, “You seem pretty open about all of this.”

Harry stepped away from Judy, “Oh trust me, I still have a few secrets left. A wizard must have an air of mystery after all.” His bow and flourish caused V to snicker at him. “But, honestly, with what I had to do, I wanted us all on the same page. If we had worked together normally, I would have waited a bit to tell you. To make sure I could trust you and all that, but circumstances being what they are… I took a different approach.” 

V raised her almost empty glass, “Hey you brought alcohol, your good in my book.” She slugged back the rest of her drink, sliding the glass onto the table when she was done. 

Harry’s grin only grew, “Glad to know you’re so easily pleased”

The grin the V gave him in return was only partially influenced by the alcohol in her system, “Well, I’m just a simple gal."

Harry's chuckle was contagious for V, who joined in with her own as he spoke, "I highly doubt that miss V." He turned back to Judy, “Now as I was saying, she’ll need a friend to help her. She’ll be a bit disoriented when she wakes. Nothing to worry about, though if she forgets important things let me know. I’ll be right over.”

“And let me know when she’s ready to talk,” V said as she stood. “I’m pretty sure whoever messed with her cyberware in the first place would probably know more about this chip.” She rubbed the side of her neck, feeling where her cyberware met skin.

Judy nodded, “Yeah, I’ll do that”

“Keep the firewhiskey… and the chair,” Harry reached out, his red coat flying out of the bedroom and into his hand. “Is there a good place nearby that V and I could talk? We have a few things to go over.”

Judy rubbed at her eyes as she sat down again, "Roof is usually empty this time of night."

"Brilliant," Harry clapped his hand together as he turned to the merc. "Care to join me, V."

_________________________________________________________________

The night air was cool against V's skin. The bright neon lights of the billboards cast the roof in an uneven glow, casting strange shadows on the concrete. V approached the edge of the roof, sticking her hands in her pockets as looked out on the city in front of her. Harry joined her, mimicking her stance with his coat. They stayed like that for a moment, listening to the city thrum around them. 

"Beautiful night," Harry's voice broke through the silence.

V nodded, craning her head back to look at what stars shone through the lights, "Would be better out of the city proper." She could see the grin on his face from the corner of her vision.

"I would have to agree with that," He spun to sit down on the small ledge that stuck up from the roof. “I remember back at school, we had astronomy class on the tallest tower of the castle. Up there the stars seemed… endless, like they could swallow us up at any moment.”

“You had school in a castle?” At Harry’s nod, V let out a soft whistle. “Kinda jealous now. Didn’t even go to school myself. The clan taught me what I needed, the rest I was on my own.”

That seemed to surprise Harry, whose eyes scanned over her, “You were a nomad?”

“Yeah, since birth,” V chuckled, hanging her head. “Though... Haven’t been outside the city now for about six, maybe seven months.”

“What clan?”

“The Bakkers,” V pulled the old tattered patch from a hidden pocket in her jacket. She had tried to get rid of it but never felt like she could. Even if she wasn’t wearing it anymore. She sighed before stuffing it back from where she got it. “Don’t really talk ‘bout it much, though. Just a part of my past that closed behind me when I came here.” She sat beside Harry, “Gotta keep moving forward now.”

"Perfectly understandable," Harry said. "Especially considering what I heard happened to the Bakkers."

V gave him a sideways glance, “How would you know? You don’t strike me as the nomad type.”

“Oh, I’m not, not really.” Harry chuckled, “Just have a few friends in the right places.”

V frowned in thought, “For someone as seemingly well connected as you. You don’t leave too much of a footprint behind.”

His lopsided grin was back, “Perks of having magic. Only people I want, get to know about me.”

“People like Johnny Silverhand?”

"Johnny was a… Special case," Harry sighed. "I honestly am surprised he remembers me. I was more interested in Alt Cunningham back then." At V's questioning look, Harry continued. "She was the one who developed the soul killer program. The same program that turned Johnny into what he is."

"I'm sorry what?"

"That chip in your head," Harry gestured at her. "Is part of the soul killer project. Somehow Arasaka figured out how to trap not only a person's memories but their very soul." 

V's brow furrowed, "I'm sorry, are you saying souls are a real thing?"

"Yes, and Arasaka is meddling with them," Harry said as he turned to fully face V. "It's why I was trying to stop them back then. Unfortunately, Johnny and his team got in the way by bombing the tower. That caused Arasaka to lock down tighter than Azkaban. So I waited till a new lead showed up," He gave V a pointed look, "That lead being Hellman."

"Which brought you to me," V crossed her arms. "That's an awfully long time to wait around."

"I've seen where meddling with souls leads to," Gone was jovial Harry. The one who smiled so easily. His shoulders had straightened, his eyes had hardened. "It is one of the vilest prices of magic. And they must be stopped."

“Why do I feel like you’re not telling me everything?”

“Because I’m not,” Harry said bluntly.

V glared at Harry before poking him in the chest as she spoke, “You see, that right there makes it hard to care.” Of course, there would be another guy with a righteous cause. Johnny just wasn’t enough. “I’m just trying to live past a month. Not get dragged into another big conspiracy. Especially when I don’t have all the information.”

“You already are involved though,” He scooted closer to V, his head tilting down to look at her. “Sometimes we don’t get a choice, but… I understand your point. After we get Hellman, we can go our separate ways. If that’s what you want.”

V stood suddenly, pacing across the roof away from Harry, “Let’s... just deal with Palmer tomorrow. We can go from there.”

“Sounds like a plan,” His hands found his pockets again as he stood as well. “Tell you what, I’ll even help with this job of hers too.”

“Why?”

Harry shrugged, “Got nothing better to do, plus... I feel you need to trust me more. Best way to do that is to work with you.”

“And why should I want to trust you?”

“Cause, someday, you’re gonna have to trust me with your life. I’d rather earn that, if I can,” With that Harry spun on the spot, disappearing with a crack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, here's the next chapter. I plan on writing one more chapter of this story for switching back to my other work in progress. Panam makes her appearance next as the plot starts to pick up a bit. Though we have a long journey ahead of us. Thank you all for reading. Edit - Bakkers not Bakkas. Thank you all for noticing that and calling it out. I've changed the previous chapters and I'll keep it in mind going forwards.


	4. Chapter 4

Panam was an interesting person. Interesting being the nicest word V could come up with. Not to say she disliked Panam, but V had found the experience so far to be very tiring. Panam made plans like a woman possessed, dragging V along with her as they drove around the badlands. 

Being back in a nomad camp had been a surreal experience. The Aldacado’s setup had been much larger than anything V had with the Bakkers. The most they had ever had was a couple of tents and a few, beat-up cars. In comparison, the Aldacados were living the high life, with several tents for specific uses and a bunch of specialized vehicles. It was enough to make the inner mechanic in V squeal with delight. 

“When’s this guy of yours supposed to show up,” Panam’s voice broke V from her inner fangirling over the cars she had seen. They were on their way to Rocky Ridge now, having just left the camp with their supplies.

“He said he’d meet us there,” V checked her messages. Harry was probably one of the worst texters she had ever dealt with. He misspelled most of the words that he typed and used so many emojis it was like texting with a five-year-old. “Though with him that could mean now, or ten seconds before the Raffens show up.” 

Panam rolled her eyes, “Sounds like a real great partner there.”

“Hasn’t betrayed me yet,” V leaned back in the seat, looking out the window at the landscape moving past them. “Plus he’s after Hellman too, and I doubt he would do anything to jeopardize that.”

“He better not,” Panam said with a growl.

V changed the subject, “So what can you tell me about Rocky Ridge?”

“Not much,” Panam relaxed slightly, leaving one hand on the steering wheel and the other propped up on the door. “Just another abandoned town like any other. Was supposed to get an interstate extension built that would breathe new life into the town. But that didn’t happen, obviously. So the town died out slowly. Hasn’t been a person living there for years.”

V’s mind wandered to her time as a nomad, remembering all the towns she and the Bakkers would use for shelter while on the road, “How many ghost towns do you think there are?”

“Across the nation? Hundreds if not thousands,” She glanced at V. “Drove down I-80 a while ago. All you have to do is pull over after sundown. Then you hear it.”

“What’s that?”

“The wind whistling through boarded-up windows. Tumbleweeds scratching across dry, sandy tracks,” Panam sighed. “That’s how towns die. Not with a bang, but with whispers and whimpers.” It was a story V had heard time and time again. As the megacities got bigger, the towns and sometimes smaller cities suffered. That was just how things were. 

The pair rode in silence for a while. Turning onto the old cracked pavement as they drew near Rocky Ridge. The corpses of the buildings making monuments for the sins of Night City. Harry’s blue motorcycle sat in the parking lot of an old gas station. It was the only vehicle that didn’t look like a burned husk. He, however, was nowhere to be seen. 

Panama whistled appreciatively at the bike, "Well I can say one thing. Your guys got excellent taste. Assuming that old Triumph over there is his"

"Yeah, that's his," V said as their car stopped next to the bike. "Don't see him though."

Panam got out of the car with V following close behind, “Well, we have little time for looking. We need to prepare for the Raffens.” She walked to the middle of the street, placing her hand on her hips as she looked around the dead town. “We should scout around for anything useful.”

“I wouldn’t bother,” Harry’s voice called out from the power station on their right. He strolled around the corner with his usual nonchalance. “Town’s deader than a doornail. Been here for an hour looking around.”

Panam raised an eyebrow at the man, “You V’s partner?”

A grin bloomed on Harry’s face, “That would correct. You must be, Miss Palmer.” He stepped up to her, holding his hand out.

The nomad just crossed her arms as she glared at Harry, “Just Panam, V hasn’t told me your name yet.”

His eyebrow rose as he glanced over at V, “She didn’t? Well, allow me to remedy that.” He bowed slightly, “Vernon Dudley at your service.”

V’s brow furrowed at Harry’s words. She hadn’t been aware he would use a fake name. She doubted it was a joke for him. And considering how willing he was at giving his name to her, she didn’t understand why he was being cagey with it now. 

“Vernon… Dudley,” Panam repeated, her eyes narrowing. “Right, whatever.” She turned to V, “Let’s check out the substation, see if anything can be done from there.”

V fell in step with Panam as they marched to the power station, “What’s the plan here.”

“Gonna give them a surprise when they get here. Just gotta get the power flowin’ first,” She gestured to the small building that served as the control center for the substation. “You and your friend check and see what you can do from there.”

“Got it,” V said, grabbing Harry’s arm and dragging him with her to the control center. They both stopped in front of the door. 

Harry gave the handle an experimental jiggle, “Well, that’s locked.” He looked behind him to see where Panam was before drawing his wand. “I’ll have that fixed in a-”

V rolled her eyes before pushing Harry out of the way, “Not everything needs your touch, magic man.” She grasped the door and the wall with her hands and pulled. Her gorilla arms whirring and stretching as she wrenched the door open with a screech. “There we go.” 

“Impressive,” Harry flicked the wand back up his sleeve, “Not very subtle though.”

V shrugged as she stepped into the building, “Eh, I prefer superior firepower over subtlety.” As she made her way over to the computer screen, she shot Harry a look over her shoulder. “Besides, considering that fake name you gave Panam, I figured you wouldn’t want her to know about the… you know.” She wiggled her fingers at Harry. “The whole magic thing.”

Harry gave her an amused look, “Barely a day of knowing magic exists and you’re already mocking me with it.” He shook his head. “I’m disappointed V, truly.”

She rolled her eyes, turning to the computer, “Whatever.” She scanned the computer with her optics, noting a connection to something on the roof. 

As she turned to leave, Harry spoke up again, “Besides, Panam already knows about magic.”

That caused V to halt in her tracks. She twisted around to stare at Harry, “I’m sorry, what?”

The innocent look Harry gave her, was ruined by the small upturn of his mouth, “Well, I’m pretty sure she’s a witch. The Aldecados are one of the bigger magical nomad clans.”

“And you didn’t think to share this before,” V sighed, rubbing her head. “Hell, I didn’t even know there were more of you.”

“There are,” Harry seemed to think for a moment before smirking, “Well, more magicals at least. I’m too special to be duplicated.”

V scoffed as she walked past Harry to the stairs that led up to the roof, “That’s probably a good thing. Who knows how much chaos two you would cause.” When she reached the top of the steps, she scanned the breakers. She called out to Panam, “Looks like the breakers are intact. Just no juice running through them.”

“That’s fine, come on down, I think I got a plan,” Panam’s voice called back from the front of the building.

V vaulted over the railing for the stairs, landing in front of Harry, “Should we mention the magic thing to her? If we’re going to pull this off, we need every advantage.”

“Well, it might be better if you didn’t.”

“Why?”

“Because most magicals are… touchy about people finding out about magic.”

V crossed her arms, “Are… you breaking a law by telling me?”

“Not technically,” Harry said with a shrug. “There’s no one to enforce the law so… Free game, right?”

V sighed, “Harry. Just… the more I learn.” With that, she walked over to Panam. She was crouched in front of the substation, looking at a piece of machinery. 

“Right so,” She said as she stood, “The intersection is powered from the transformer substation, right. The switchgear on the roof, we’ll flip the switch and everything will light up like Christmas.”

“Plus, we get power flowin’ I could get into that computer in there, see if I can coax anything out of it,” V said.

Panam nodded as she started pacing, “Great, they’re likely to show up in numbers, we can’t know how many. We need to outfox them and get to my car somehow.”

“I’ll have some fun with them at the intersection,” V grinned. “Get them to spread out a bit, easy pickin’s for that rifle in your car.” She looked around the intersection. “Got a couple of roofs for you to choose from.”

“Hell yes, perfect.” Panam turned to Harry, “What about you? You got any specialties?”

“Got a few ideas,” Harry said. He scanned the building and pointed to what had once been a restaurant of some sort. “I’ll be in there, hidden. Once the distraction kicks off, I’ll be in a good position for some mischief,”

Panam nodded, “Sound good, Let's get the control terminal going, the gear on the roof is useless without it.” She walked off to her car, “We’ll give it a jump. It’ll scrap the car, but as long as things go to plan, that shouldn’t matter.” She jumped in her car, leaving V and Harry alone.

“I’m going to set up,” Harry said, striding away towards the restaurant. “Probably get more fireworks going. Add on to your surprise.”

“Just be careful,” V said as he swaggered off, “These guys aren’t scavs, they’re Raffen Shiv. Ex-nomads.”

He gave her a lazy salute, “Got it, V. See you one the other side.”

___________________________________________________________________

Jumpstarting the substation had gone off without a hitch. Power once more flowed in Rocky Ridge. Panam had found an old radio tower to roost in while V had crouched next to the breakers on the roof, waiting for the signal. 

Darkness had been quick to descend, the stars slowly revealing themselves as night spread over the abandoned town. It made it easy to see the approaching headlights when they appeared on the horizon.

V opened a call line to Panam, “Hey, I got headlights heading our way.”

“Good,” Panam said over the line, “Wait for them to stop at the intersection, then flip the switch.”

“Got it,” V rested her fingers on the control panel. Her other hand tightened around the shotgun she had brought. The rumble of the cars reached her ears before too long. They came into view soon after, stopping at the intersection in a sloppy half circle.

As people exited the cars, Panam’s voice hissed in V’s ear, “Now.” V flipped the switch, sparks flying as wires that hadn’t been used in decades were suddenly burdened with power once more. The old neon signs lit up, a few of the bulbs breaking due to age. The intersection descended into chaos as the Raffens tried to figure out how the lights came on.

Then the fireworks went off. 

V hadn’t gotten a real chance to appreciate Harry’s fireworks last time. She had been too focused on Harry and killing scavs. Now though, the blue, purple, and green sparks and flames entranced her for a moment. They spread out, shooting beneath cars before spiraling into the air to chase the Raffens.

Breaking out of her trance, V lept from the roof. She rolled as she landed, springing back up to her feet as she brought her shotgun up. She fired as she ran, sending one of the Raffens flying into their car, head turned into a pulpy mess. She slid across the hood of the car, sending another shot into a Raffens chest. She ducked down, crouching behind a truck as shots pinged around her.

Panam’s influence was felt as well. Three Raffens had already been shot by her rifle, collapsing to the ground with no knowledge of what had shot them. Harry had also burst from the building he had been hiding, moving between the Raffens as his sword flashed about him. He cut down two more of their number before being forced to cover himself. 

V reloaded before leaning around the truck. One firework careened past her, slamming into a Raffen that had been trying to sneak up on her. A quick shot from her ensured he wouldn’t be getting up again. She stood, dashing between the vehicles, letting out more shots from her shotgun.

She didn’t notice the man behind her before he slammed her into a car. Her shotgun came loose from her grip, falling to the ground with a clatter as she exclaimed, “Gah fuck.” Her eyes widened as the behemoth of a man sent a fist flying at her. She dropped, letting him hit the armored car, then pushed up, grabbing him around the chest as she did. She drove the man back, tucking her head into his chest as he rained down blows, trying to dislodge her. 

When they hit the opposite vehicle, V stepped backed and throw a punch of her own. She landed a powerful hit on the man’s jaw, causing his head to fly to the side. It wasn’t enough to bring him down, though. She landed another punch to his gut and then danced away, avoiding his reaching arms. She lashed out with a kick which the man avoided as he tried once more to close the distance between them.

V reached underneath her jacket to the pistol she had tucked into her pants. She ducked underneath a wild haymaker, sidestepping the man as he continued forward. Three shots from her pistol sent him to the ground. V let out a sigh of relief, though that was quickly shattered by Harry yelling, “V! Get down!”

She flung herself to the ground, her body simply reacting to the shouted orders. A barrage of bullets tore through the car in front of her. Shredding it apart in a hail of metal and glass. V swore to herself as the shrapnel rained down around her. Who the hell had given Raffens a machine gun. And a big one at that, considering the destruction of the armored car in front of her.

“V, I can’t line up a shot,” Panam said in V’s ear. “He’s got the two of you pinned pretty good, but if you can get him to move, even just a bit, I can take the fucker out.”

“Fuck, shit. H- Vernon,” V yelled in the general direction she thought Harry was. Changing the name quickly, remembering that Panam was still on the call, “You got a line on the guy at all?” 

“Not at the moment,” Harry said, not at all sounding like someone in the middle of a firefight. “Don’t have many options either with our current audience. Can you see him?”

V shuffled back, staying low to the ground as she sat up against the car between her and the madman with a machine gun. She tried to peek her head out to get a look, but a barrage of bullets once more sent her back to cover. “No dice, fucker’s got a good angle on us,” She looked around for anything to help them, her eyes falling upon the car’s open door. “I may have an idea though, Can you get to me?” 

Without waiting for a response, V grabbed the door and started pulling. Her arms whined as she applied more pressure till, with an ear-piercing screech, the door came free. She landed on her butt with her prize on top of her. 

Harry’s face appeared beside her, “So… did you win?”

“Can you help me attach this to my arm,” V slid the door to the ground, flipping it over and ripping the interior piece off. Harry waved his wand over the torn off pieces, transforming them into thick leather strips that were then attached to the door. V slid her arm through the strap, which then tightened, firmly anchoring the door to her. 

“How’s that feel?” Harry asked.

V nodded as she tested the makeshift shield. “It should work, don’t know how long it’ll last, but it should give me enough time to get a bead on him.” She pulled her pistol out again as she crouched at the rear of the car. “Hopefully he’ll just shoot at the door, not my legs.” 

“I can fix your legs. If you get your head blown off though, I won’t be able to do anything for you.” 

“Duly noted,” With that V leaped out of cover, bullets pinged off the makeshift shield as she ran. She kept her head covered as she sprinted toward where she felt the bullets were coming from. Asphalt and sand were kicked up in front of her as the gunner tried to adjust his aim. She jumped as bullets lanced into the ground where she had just been. With a yell, V batted the machine gun out of the man's hands. Her pistol can up and she unloaded on him, the bullets hitting against the man’s vest with enough force to push him back. As he stumbled, a loud boom split the night, causing the man to collapse with a new hole in his head.

“Ha! Got the fucker,” Panam said. 

V took a knee, her breath heavy from the exertion and adrenaline. “Please, tell me that all of them.”

“Yeah, can’t see anymore, I’ll be down in a sec. Try and find my key shard, Should be with a girl with the mohawk” Panam’s boots could be heard against the metal grate from whatever hidey-hole she had found before the call went dead as she hung up.

V stood, pushing herself off the ground with the door still attached to her arm. She slipped the pistol back to its place, making sure the safety was on so she wouldn’t blow her ass off. Harry’s head bobbed over the roofs of the car as he made his way to her. The fireworks had died at this point. Leaving only a few still swirling into the night.

“Get this thing off me,” V said, gesturing to her arm. Harry waved his hand at her and the straps holding the door to her arm loosened, allowing it to fall to the ground. V rubbed her arm where the straps had sat. 

“You know, it wasn’t a half-bad idea,” Harry said, examining the makeshift shield. “If you wanted something more permanent,” He let that thought hang in the air as they both started searching bodies. Harry was more than happy to let V have any guns and ammo he found as they looked for the key shard. As Panam had said, a girl with a green mohawk had it on her person.

Panam was quick to claim the shard as she stormed up to her truck. She threw open the door and climbed inside. She caressed the steering wheel before frowning and adjusting the seat, “At last.”

“Just couldn’t wait, could ya,” V said with a smirk as she leaned into the truck. Panam didn’t answer as she started the truck. It rumbled to life, dashboard and control panel lighting up as she revved the engine.

“And? She’s prime wheels, ain’t she?” Panam gave V a smirk of her own.

“Definitely,” V crossed her arms. “Way better than my old Gecko I had when I ran with the Bakkers. No surprise you wanted her back.”

“She completes me.” 

“Do you two ladies need a moment alone?” Harry said as he sidled up to the truck. “I could come back in an hour or two?” V rolled her eyes at Harry’s wink as he spoke, while Panam just glared at the man. 

“I think we’ll be fine,” Panam said. “Besides, this isn’t over yet.”

“It’s not? You got the cargo, your truck…” V trailed off as Panam clenched the steering wheel hard enough to turn her knuckles white.

“I did not get Nash,” Panam said through clenched teeth. “Who was not at Rocky Ridge. The fucker didn’t show.”

“Panam,” The disappointment was clear in V’s voice. She rubbed her head again, once again fighting off whatever headache this was sure to cause.

“Listen, I have a plan-”

“And I don’t care,” V interrupted before Panam could build much steam. “The truck and the merch, that’s what we were after.=”

“Just listen to me, for fuck’s sake,” Panam slammed her hand on the wheel before twisting slightly to point at V. “I know where their little hidey-hole is. We can take that old unfinished freeway. They won’t be expecting us. I can guarantee it.”

V stepped away from the truck, “You want to raid a Raffen Base, for one man. You know how insane that is right?” She waved to the back of the truck. “That’s not even counting the fact you have cargo the Sixth Street gang is waiting for. You really think this is the best time.”

“The cargo will be fine,” Panam said decisively, “I just… V, I need to do this. He took my truck. You’re a nomad, you know what that means.”

Your car was your life. That was what V had heard the whole time she had grown up. It had struck home when she had gotten her first car. The same Gecko that was rotting away in some junkyard. “Dammit, fuck.” She looked over at Harry, who was leaning against the front of the truck. It didn’t seem like he cared either way, but he was her partner for this, “What do you think.”

His eyes darted between V and Panam, “Normally, I’d say no to a revenge job on principle.” Panam opened her mouth to speak but was stopped when Harry raised a finger to continue talking. “And I still stand by that revenge is a bad idea. But I have a feeling you won’t just let this go. When we go after Hellman you’ll need to be clear-headed, and this would certainly be something that would cloud your mind.”

Harry was right. In the short time that V had known the nomad, she had gotten the impression that Panam was not someone to just let things go. If the animosity she held for both Rogue and her clan leader Saul was anything to go by, “Alright, fine. But if this goes tits up-”

“It won’t,” Panam’s grin was vicious, “They won’t even know what hit them.”

_____________________________________________________________________

Panam’s plan comprised attacking them. And it was working. She had been right. the Raffens had not expected them. So when V and Panam had piled out of her truck and started shooting, it was like they were fish in a barrel. With their main exit blocked, they had nowhere to go as Panam and V tore through them. Harry was hanging back. His sword, while useful, would have been more of a liability with bullets zinging past in nearly every direction. 

V had not been expecting it to be this easy. Most of the time, Raffens were a force to be reckoned with. Raiders with good supplies and half-decent tactics. So it was rather disconcerting how easily V and Panam were cutting through them.

V took cover as she reloaded the rifle she had ‘liberated’ from a Raffen back in Rocky Ridge. As she slammed the new magazine home, she yelled to Panam over the din of the shootout, “You see Nash yet?”

“Yeah, he's hiding up there,” Panam nodded toward the catwalk that wrapped around the cave. 

V nodded and made her way up the stairs, her rifle at her shoulder as she moved forward. “I’m going up.” Few Raffens were left and V made quick work of the ones between her and Nash. He panicked as she approached, his aim going wide as he tried to shoot her. A few well-placed shots had him down on the ground, blood leaking out on the floor. “Got him, let's clean up and get out of here.”

As V turned to jump over the railing, movement in the corner of her eye caused her to pause. A man was storming up the stairs. His clothes ragged hung from his thin frame, stringy black hair hanging in front of his face. But the feature that caught V’s attention the most was the thin stick held in his hand. As he raised it, she realized what it meant. She leaped over the balcony and the man screamed, “BOMBARDA MAXIMA.” 

The entire catwalk where she had been standing on exploded as V fell. She landed on her back with a pained shout. How the hell was there another wizard. Considering the way Harry talked about them, there shouldn’t be a wizard here. They should be in other nomad clans. Even as she thought that, an idea connected in her mind. Raffen Shivs were just excommunicated nomads.

The man stared down at her with wild eyes. 

“Harry!” V shouted, scrambling to her feet, all pretense gone as she shouted, “We got a fucking wizard Harry.” 

V saw how Panam’s eyes widened at what she said, and she barely caught sight of Harry as he popped out from the cover he had been using. Unfortunately, she didn’t get any time to appreciate that as she heard the wizard scream out another curse, “CRUCIO!”

V screamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was a thing. She should be fine with Harry there. I will make a few changes to previous chapters with this update as well. Nothing big, just some dialogue tweaks and additions and smoothing some things out. The main meat of what I've written won't be changed at all, though. I'll let you guys know whenever I do something like that. This is a work in progress, and until that last chapter drops, it'll always be worked on. Hope you've enjoyed it so far. I know I enjoy the tremendous feedback and love for this story so far, so thank you all for that. Have a nice day, and I'll see you in the future


	5. Chapter 5

Pain ripped through V’s body. White-hot needles pierced her skin, setting her nerves on fire. Her cybernetics screamed a song of static and suffering. She could feel herself curl into a ball as her body reacted to the pain, trying to protect itself. Time lost all meaning as the curse did its work.

Then it was over. 

V wasn’t sure how long she laid there, just fighting off the aftershocks of the curse. What she knew was by the time she looked up, the wizard was already lying on the ground. His arm lay a few feet away from him, fingers still curled around his wand. Lacerations covered his body, causing his blood to leak onto the floor of the cave. 

She shook her head and tried to stand. Her movements were sluggish. The cybernetics in her body seemed to fight against her. Before she could sit up fully, Harry appeared at her side. He draped her arm over his shoulder and wrapped an arm around her waist. 

V’s legs trembled underneath her as they stood, but they held her up. As she and Harry walked over to Panam’s truck, she got steadier with every step. As they got closer, V let her arm slip off Harry’s shoulder as she transferred her weight onto the truck to stay standing. 

“How are you feeling?” Harry asked. He stayed close to her as she turned around to face him.

“Just peachy,” V said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “What the hell was that?”

Harry seemed to chew on his words as he figured out what to say, “That, was the cruciatus curse. Or the torture curse.”

“Fuck,” V’s jaw clenched as another wave of pain rippled through her. 

Panam stormed around the truck, eyes blazing as she invaded Harry’s personal space, “Who the fuck are you?” She drew a sandy brown wand from her jacket and pointed it at Harry’s nose. “Tell me now, or will hex you till you shit out your mouth and eat with your asshole.”

Harry's eyes flicked down to the wand in his face. He raised an eyebrow at her, not bothered by the threat, “You know, you remind me of my wife.”

Panam made a sound akin to an angry cat. A giggle escaped V’s mouth before she could stop it. She tried to slap a hand over her mouth, but her arm didn’t respond. Why didn’t it respond? The corners of her mouth turned down as she stared at the rebellious limb.

Either unknowing or uncaring of V’s sudden panic, Panam stepped closer to Harry, “I want a fucking answer. She called you Harry, so I know you’re not Vernon Dudley. And the way you fight? I’ve never seen someone throw curses out that quickly.”

Now V was sliding down the side of the truck. Why was she falling? She had to do something. She tried to move her legs to steady herself, but nothing happened. Every instinct in her body was screaming at her to do something, anything. 

“And you really think threatening me is the best way to get information?”

V gave a strangled shout as she started sliding faster. Two things happened at that moment. Harry turned, taking a step towards V, trying to catch her. Panam jabbed at Harry with her wand while saying, “Locomotor Mortis.”

Harry’s legs snapped together, and he put his arms out to catch himself on Panam’s truck. Meanwhile, V finished her tumble, the air leaving her lungs from the impact with the ground. She could make out the scowl on Harry’s face from her position on the floor of the cave. 

As Harry pushed off the truck, his wand sprung into his hand. A quick swish separated his legs to catch himself before he fell over backward. He then slashed at Panam twice, the first one sending her wand flying, the second causing her ankle to jerk out from under her and into the air. She yelped as she spun, her arms flailing about in an attempt to catch herself.

“Right,” Harry said as he adjusted his jacket. He gave the now upside down Panam a hard glare, “You’re going to stay there till you learn some manners."

"Little help here," V said, her voice cracking because of her panic. 

Harry crouched down and waved his wand over her. The frown on his face deepened, “That’s interesting.”

“Interesting,  _ interesting _ !,” V was shrieking now, her panic reaching an all-time high. “I can’t move and you say it’s interesting.”

“Well, it is.”

V growled as she glared at Harry, “Can. You. Fix it.”

“Maybe? Your whole nervous system is acting strangely,” He moved his wand over her once more. “Doesn’t seem damaged really, just… out of order.”

“It’s because of that curse,” Panam said, drawing attention back to her. She had started spinning slowly in mid-air, her arms crossed over her chest. “It messes with the nerves directly, which messes with the cybernetics that I assume V is packing.” 

“Is there any way to heal her?” Harry had turned back to Panam. 

Panam glared at Harry for a moment before sighing, “Not really. She’ll be back to normal in one or two days as her body corrects itself.”

V slammed her head against the floor of the cave, “Fuck!” Why was this happening now, when she was so close to Hellman. “What did I say, Panam. This whole thing was your idea. Now how am I supposed to get Hellman like this?”

“It’s not my fault you got cursed,” Panam said, doing her best to look outraged even as she continued to rotate in the air. “Maybe you should try getting in cover when someone flings spells around. Or better yet, let the person you’re hiring know that you’re magical.”

“I’m not magical, I didn’t even know about magic until recently,” V spat back.

“You let a no-maj know about magic!,” Panam was practically shrieking at this point as well, though her ire was once again directed at Harry.

V, however, was the one to fire back, “Oh, I’m sorry. Am I not special enough for you?” V normally wouldn’t let herself get riled up, but the situation already had her on edge, “Maybe I missed that will jumping off an exploding catwalk.”

Before Panam could respond, Harry jutted his wand into the air, creating a loud bang, “Alright, that’s enough. You two are adults for Merlin’s sake.”

“She started it,” Both women said at once.

Harry rubbed his face with his hand while he muttered under his breath, “Blimey, it’s school all over again.” He then spoke in a louder voice, “V, you’ll let me and Panam deal with Hellman.” V opened her mouth to respond but Harry kept on talking, steamrolling over what she had planned to say. “Panam, can we drop V off with the Aldecados? I’d feel more comfortable leaving her in the hand of a healer if you have any in that camp of yours.”

“I’m not taking you anywhere near my clan unless you tell me who you are.”

“I figured as much. Which is why,” He let his words hang in the air as he moved his hand across his face like he was wiping something off it. To V he didn’t change, he still had his green eye, the mop of black hair, and the scar on his forehead.

Panam, however, reacted like she was truly seeing Harry for the first time. The color drained out of her face, an impressive feat considering she was still suspended upside down, “You’re… you’re…”

With a flick of his wand, Panam fell onto the floor. Harry gave her an exaggerated bow with an impish grin on his lips, “Harry Potter at your service.” 

Panam scrambled back, “What the fuck. You can’t… You aren’t.” Her eyes widened, “Oh shit I…” 

“Yup,” Harry said with a pop.

“Can some tell me what’s going on?” V asked. 

“You don’t know who he is?”

V tried to glare at Panam, but being unable to do more than lift her head slightly the effect was lost, “He’s just Harry as far as I know.”

Panam’s eyes nearly bulged out of her head at V’s statement, “Just… You don’t know.” She stopped, slumping back as she sighed, “Right, you’re a no-maj.”

V scowled, she wasn’t sure that was meant as an insult, but in her current state of mind, it felt like one, “So sorry I’m not part of your super-secret club. Didn't seem to mean anything while my nerves lit up like some fucked up Christmas tree."

“Eh, it's barely worth it in my opinion,” Harry said with a dismissive wave of his hand, once again taking the bite out of V’s rage. “They considered me famous, and I still had to deal with assholes and idiots and curses my entire life. Not much different from life outside ‘the club’.” 

“You were famous?” This was exactly what V needed, more famous people meddling in her life.

Panam snorted, “That’s putting it lightly. He’s a legend. Think, Morgan Blackhand, or Adam Smasher, or hell, even Johnny Silverhand.”

V couldn’t help it when Panam had said the last name. She burst out laughing. The growl of displeasure she heard from Johnny only made her laugh harder. Panam’s brow had furrowed as she stared at V.

"I feel like I'm missing something here," Panama said with narrowed eyes.

Harry shrugged, "You are, now about that healer."

________________________________________________________________________

V had been drifting in and out of consciousness since the group had left the caves. Panam had said that was normal since her body was rebooting itself. Harry had placed her in Panam’s truck, citing the added protection of the seatbelts for her current state. It was frustrating, being unable to do anything. She hadn’t felt this helpless since being tossed in the dump and left for dead. 

At some point, the group had stopped at a run-down motel. She was pretty sure it was to finish Panam’s deal with the Sixth Street Gang. It had gone smoothly. They were off again after about a minute. The truck bouncing around the poorly kept dirt road kept her in the space between sleep and wakefulness for the second part of the ride.

That had led to her current predicament. Namely, being cradled by Harry as the three of them entered the Aldecado’s camp. She had tried to protest, but that had fallen on deaf ears. It was odd being carried like this, with Harry’s arms wrapped around her legs and back, her head leaning against his chest. It was nice, comfortable. The last time someone had held her like this was when she was young. The woman she was pretty sure was her mother usually carried V whenever she had been too tired to go to her cot properly. It had only happened a few times, but it was enough to stick in her mind all these years later. Though being held by Harry had a different space in her head now.

She’d deal with those thoughts later when her mind wasn’t so fuzzy and warm from just waking up. Harry’s comfy chest certainly wasn’t helping her in that regard. If anything, she wished she could just fall asleep again. Johnny didn’t help either with the way he made fun of her. She shook her head, lifting it slightly from its current pillow.

“Good evening, sleepyhead, enjoy your nap,” Harry was looking down at her, a barely suppressed smile on his lips.

V glared back at him, “Your fault for being so comfy.”

“You were asleep long before I became your pillow.”

“Details,” V said. 

“Gag me,” Johnny said in her head.

They had made it past one of the large campfires that litter the site. People were gathered around it, drinking, talking, laughing. They would occasionally look over at Panam and make comments as they had earlier that day. A few made comments about V and the strange man holding her, though none seemed to recognize Harry as Panam had.

A large man, dressed in a stripped-down version of the rigging Panam wore, marched towards them. “What’s going on here?” The man asked. His voice was low as it rumbled over V’s ears. He stepped fully into the light of the fire, allowing V to get a good look at his face. His skin was leathery, a consequence of the nomad life. His beard was as trim and neat as one could expect and emphasized the downtown of his mouth.

Panam stepped up, inserting herself between the man and Harry, “Saul, we need access to the Menagerie.”

“Why?” Saul asked, crossing his arms as he glared down at Panam. “What kind of trouble have you attracted now?”

“Ran into a Raffen Magus, V got hit with a cruciatus,” Panam stared definitely up at Saul. They stayed like that for a moment, locked in a battle of wills that V suspected had happened plenty of times before.

Finally, Saul sighed, “Dammit Panam, why hell would you take a no-maj to go after a Raffen Magus.”

“It wasn’t exactly planned, we had no idea there was Magus around here,” Panam stepped forward, pointing a finger in Saul’s face. “If you had allowed us to take a proper survey of the area.”

“You don’t get to blame all your problems on me,” Saul said, unfazed by the aggressive Panam. “If you didn’t have the proper information, you should have gotten it beforehand. Not rushed in blindly like you always do.”

“If you don’t mind,” Harry said, inserting himself into the conversation. “I would prefer to get V here to a healer sooner rather than later. She is getting rather heavy.”

V saw the slight upturn of Harry’s lips as he spoke. It only spurred her to join in, “You callin’ me fat?”

“I would never, my arms are just getting tired.”

“Still feel you’re callin’ me fat.”

“Jeeze, you’re really itchin’ for a fuck aren’t you,” Johnny’s voice once again growled in her head. She sent all her perverted thoughts to him.

“Who are you,” Saul said, interrupting the two of them.

“No one of importance,” Harry said. Panam scoffed, opening her mouth to refute Harry’s statement, but he kept talking. “I understand you have Cynthia Longbottom working as a healer here. If it isn’t too much trouble, I’d like her to look after my friend.”

Saul’s eyes narrowed, “How do you know about the Longbottoms?”

“I went to school with her grandfather Neville.”

Saul’s scowl deepened, “Impossible, that would have been nearly eighty years ago.”

“Seventy-nine actually, and thank you,” Harry said with a bright smile.

Confusion flitted across Saul’s face, “I.. What?”

“For the compliment, about my age.”

Panam intervened before Saul could respond, “Saul, shut the fuck up and look at his forehead.”

Harry helpfully turned his head to the side, letting the warm glow from the fire dance across his face. Saul’s eyes widened before he schooled his expression, “Follow me.” He turned on his heel and stalked off.

The group followed, weaving their way through the maze of tents. More whispers followed them, most of them about Panam and Saul. V was sure no one had mentioned Harry besides to call him a stranger.

Johnny glitched into existence next to Harry, matching his stride, “Jeeze, just like that huh.” He peered down at V, his brown eyes meeting hers. “Wish my reception had been better.”

“You tried to fuckin’ kill me,” She said, apparently out loud if the snicker from Harry meant anything. 

“Well, I’m not now.” 

A large tent was their destination. Usually used for repairing vehicles, though being in the middle of other personal use tents was odd. Saul stopped in front of the still closed flaps. He pulled out a black wand. He waved it in an intricate pattern that lit up a glyph sewn into the fabric of the tent. Golden lines spread out from the glyph, lighting up the metal poles with glowing etchings. The flaps parted, raising themselves to the corners of the opening. Light spilled from the opening, obscuring what laid deeper inside.

As they crossed over the threshold of the tent, the light bled away, revealing a massive chamber. Stone steps dipped down in the center, leaving enough room at the bottom for several benches and tables. They were filled with people, most of the younger variety. Food was laid out on the tables, allowing the children to serve themselves under the watchful eyes of the adults. 

Storefronts lined the top of the basin, though they weren’t stores at the moment. V could see the shadow of people moving along the panes of glass. Saul stopped in front of one of the old stores that had a red cross painted on the sign above it. A young woman was leaning against the doorframe, a small book in her hand. Her brown hair hung down in long waves. Her brown eyes flicked up at the group as they approached, though they returned to the book in her hand. Saul spoke up, “Cynthia.”

“Yes, Saul?” Cynthia asked, never looking up from the book in her hand. “What is it now?”

“A no-maj hit with the cruciatus.”

She snapped her book shut, her eyes locking onto V, “Who let a no-maj go somewhere they could be cursed like that.” She scanned the rest of the group, her eyes widening as she took in Harry’s appearance, though she said nothing. Instead, Panam was the target she chose, “Should have known it would be you, Panam”

“Miss you too, Cyn,” Panam said with a grumble. Cynthia rolled her eyes before stepping forward and wrapping the protesting Panam into a hug. 

“You just keep getting into trouble, Pan,” Cynthia released Panam and shoved her lightly. “Keep it up, maybe I’ll decide to tie you to one of the beds. Get you to stay still for longer than ten seconds.”

“Kinky,” V said, drawing attention back to her. She shrank away from the looks and cursed out Johnny in her head. She was sure that came from him. 

Panam spluttered at the remark, though Cynthia had no outward reaction except the small smile that flitted across her face. “You must be the patient then?” Cynthia asked. Without waiting for a reply, she drew her wand, waving it over V when she stepped closer. “It seems so. Follow me,” She turned and breezed through the doorway. 

Saul put a hand on Panam’s shoulder. “You two go on,” He said, jerking his head in the door's direction. “I need to talk to Panam for a moment.”

Harry nodded and followed Cynthia into the storefront. The inside looked nothing like a store, though. Beds lined the white walls, and a few large cabinets were fitted in between the beds. There was another door at the back that led deeper into the room. 

“Put her on a bed, don’t matter which one,” Cynthia said as she opened a cabinet and pulled out various vials and herbs. “Since she got hit with the cruciatus, her nervous system isn’t communicating with her cybernetics. Not much more to do than wait.”

“That’s what we heard,” Harry lowered V onto a bed. “I’ll admit, I’ve never seen a reaction like this to magic. At least not unless it was a specific spell.”

“It’s uncommon,” She approached the bed, laying out the things she had grabbed on a small table. “Generally, the human body is a good insulator against magic when it comes to cybernetics. We don’t run into this much except with spells that directly attack the nervous system.” She stood over V, twirling her wand between her fingers. “I did notice something else in my earlier scan. Do you mind if I take a deeper look?”

V frowned before looking over at Harry, “What do you think?”

His eyebrow raised, “You’re asking me?”

“This is your world magic man.”

Harry sat down on a bed, “Well, I’m pretty sure we both know what she’s talking about. Wouldn’t hurt to get a second opinion.”

Cynthia’s brow had furrowed while they talked, “If you both know what it is, why haven’t you seen a healer before now?”

“Saw, Vic, my ripperdoc,” V said, turning her head towards Cynthia. “Just found out about magicals what… a day or two ago?”

“Thereabouts.”

“Exactly, plus it's rather hard to explain.”

Harry snorted, “It’s not really hard to explain, just rather unbelievable.”

“I’ll decide for myself what's believable or not,” Cynthia gave Harry a pointed look. “Considering the person who brought her in here is the same person my grandpa tells stories to the children about.”

“Alright, just how famous are you?” V asked. “Cause I don’t think even Johnny is at children's story-time level.”

Harry grimaced, slight redness in his cheeks, “Well, I mean I wouldn’t go that far.”

“Oh please,” Cynthia huffed and rolled her eyes. “Nearly everyone from back then is that famous. Including Grampa Neville.” She patted V on her shoulder. “You should ask him about the time he rode a dragon out of a bank heist.”

V blinked dumbly at Cynthia before turning her head to Harry with a smirk, “You’ve been holding out on me.”

“That was eighty years ago, and I was seventeen.”

“So you don’t deny that it happened.”

He pointed at Cynthia dramatically, though she didn’t seem to care with the way she was cackling, “You, this is your fault.”

“Oi, don’t blame my granddaughter,” A voice called out. A large man stepped through the doorway, ducking his head slightly. He had short, well-groomed hair that had gone completely grey with age. A long beard that stopped around his chest had also gone grey, though light hints of brown were still clinging on. The smile he wore on his face was warm, very much unlike Harry’s own impish grin he usually sported. 

Harry jumped up, arms spread wide, “Neville! How are you, you old coot?”

“You’re just as much an old coot as I am, Harry," Neville said. "You just haven't done the rest of us the courtesy of showing it." His smile faded, " Though to be sure. What was the first spell Harry Potter taught the D.A.?"

“Expelliarmus. I believe you disarmed me to that first day.” Harry said with a wistful smile. “Your turn. What were the last words Neville said to me before coming to America?”

Neville’s frown deepened as he let out a huff, “I’m sorry about Teddy.” Upon saying this Neville closed the distance between him and Harry, pulling the smaller man into what V assumed was a bone-crushing hug considering the dramatic way Harry wheezed for air. “It’s good to see you again, Harry.”

“Same here, Nev,” Harry said after finding his feet back on firm ground. “It’s good seeing a familiar face.”

Cynthia cleared her throat, “As much as I understand the whole long-lost friend thing, I have a patient.” She waved her hand at V. “So either you take this outside, or you be quiet.”

“That brings back memories,” Harry sat back down on the bed. “Madam Pomfrey would be proud.”

“Madam Pomfrey would have already kicked us out no matter how quiet we were,” Neville added as he sidled up beside V. “How are you feeling, miss?”

“Fine mostly,” V ignored Harry’s snort. “Besides the whole not moving thing… and the dying thing.”

That statement caused both Neville and Cynthia to start slightly. Cynthia recovered first, leaning over V as she spoke, “What do you mean you’re dying?”

“Probably has to do with whatever you wanted to do the deeper scan for,” V looked over at Harry. “Do you trust them?”

He raised an eyebrow at her, “I do. Neville is one of my oldest friends. And while I’ve never met Cynthia, from the glowing reviews I’ve gotten from her grandfather, I’d say you’re in excellent hands.”

Cynthia’s cheeks tinged red at Harry’s words, though the girl was quick to recover, “V, I assure you I’m the very best at what I do. I’ve studied modern medicine and the healing techniques unique to wizards and witches.” Once again he placed a hand on V’s shoulder. “All I’m going to do at this time is run a deeper scan. Like an old school MRI just with magic.”

Once again, V looked to Harry. This was his world, and V knew that. For the moment she was fine to follow his lead. V was at least sure Harry thought about her wellbeing. His words from Judy’s apartment rang in her mind. She had to trust him here, and by extension trust the surrounding people right now. “Yeah, go ahead.”

“I’ll leave,” Neville said as he stood up. 

“V… If I could suggest something, let Neville stay,” Harry asked. V raised her eyebrow at him. “Between the two of us, you would have nearly two hundred years of experience, plus the specialization of Cynthia here.”

V tried to shrug, sighing when her body still didn’t respond, “That’s fine, I guess. You’re right, an extra pair of eyes wouldn’t hurt.”

Neville, however, looked uncomfortable at the prospect, “Are you sure. I understand…”

“Neville, I ain’t got much to hide,” V sighed again. She seemed to do that a lot. “I already know I’m dying. I’m looking for any way to avoid that if I can. If you can help, I’ll take even a sliver of hope at the moment.”

Neville nodded, though he didn’t sit back down, instead opting to stand at the foot of V’s bed. Cynthia took charge then, waving and flicking her wand as she spoke under her breath. The form of her body slowly shimmered into existence, revealing her bones first, then followed by her nerve and blood vessel, then finally muscles. Each addition glowed a different color, and each layer was slightly transparent, letting it all bleed through into one unified image.

As Cynthia stopped her incantation Neville and Harry leaned in looking over the representation floating above V. Cynthia reached forward, brushing away some scans, leaving behind only V’s nervous system. Bright lights ran down the various branching pathways and as V tried to move various limbs, certain pathways glowed brighter than the others. 

That wasn’t what the group was focused on, however. No, they were focused on the black mass that was snaking into her brain. Oily tendrils had taken over a small portion of her brain, and more seemed to form

“What the hell is that,” V’s voice was shaking. She knew the answer. Seeing it before her, though, made it more tangible than it was before. She could feel her stomach churn as she stared at the thing that was killing her.

“That,” Harry’s voice was low and dangerous. It was a tone she hadn’t heard from the man before, and it did nothing to settle the nauseous feeling rising in V’s gut. “Is a Horcrux.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longest chapter yet! I plan on, and already have started, working on chapter six of Vader's Last Apprentice. I also have another story idea bouncing around in my noggin'. Stay tuned for that, though I don't know when I'll get that out. I hope you've enjoyed the chapter. Feel free to comment or just leave a Kudo if you did.


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